Foolish Chances
by BettyHT
Summary: The question that Adam and his family must answer is who wanted him dead. The answer surprises him as well as those around him, but then it's time to catch the assassin before the next try is successful. Follows the story It's Not a Game.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

"I know you're searching, and you say I'm not the one. But we're together now. Why can't we have this one night? You could make up for a lot of wrongs you've done me by spending one night with me. We may have missed out on being together for many years, but we've got tonight."

"I'm married, and I love my wife. Those are the only reasons that matter right now. You said you needed my help and that I was the only one who could help. It seems I've been summoned here under false pretenses. I came because once we were friends, but I should leave now."

In the late afternoon, Adam had finished a meeting at the bank. His father had been there too. Adam had something to pick up at the jewelers for Mo and told his father he would meet him in an hour. He had seen Mrs. Janus and stopped to say hello. They had enjoyed an adolescent romance before he went to college. On his return, wiser and more mature, he had realized that they had little in common except a physical attraction to each other. She wanted a fancy house with servants. He wanted to help his father build the Ponderosa. She told him she didn't want children for they would ruin her figure, and Adam, even at twenty-two, couldn't imagine being married and not having children. She had insisted that he kiss her thinking that would reignite his passion and that somehow that would make him fall madly in love with her. He had kissed her as she wanted. She had pressed her body against his making him react to her except it was only physical. He was almost repelled by her behavior. That had been the last time until now that they had been together for anything.

"Friends! That's all I was to you, a friend? We did all sorts of things together. I loved you. When you went away to college and said you were going to be gone for four years, my heart broke. It wasn't just that you were going to be gone. It was that I knew that an educated, wealthy man wouldn't want me. You used me until it was time for you to move on."

"We were young and foolish and thought we were in love. We did things we shouldn't have done because we thought we were so grown up and mature. We were both wrong to get so involved with each other when we were so young. I'm sorry that we did, but there was no way to turn back that clock."

"No, we were in love, or at least I was, and you stole my innocence, and then you abandoned me. That kiss you gave me when you got back, I could tell there had been others. You knew a lot more about kissing than you did when we had kissed. I felt so betrayed when you proved your experience with that kiss."

"You did most of that. I only agreed to kiss you to convince you that it was over between us. There was no passion, no love."

"Don't say that! Never say that!"

"I'm leaving. You said you needed my help, but all you wanted to do was to get me alone to berate me about something that was over nearly twenty years ago."

Then Adam found out why the room was so cool. She had purposely opened the windows to chill the room so that her wearing a cloak wouldn't seem so unusual. What it had done was hide the pistol she now pulled from beneath her cloak and aimed at his heart. He had little doubt that she could kill him. She had known how to shoot when she was much younger. Her father had no sons so he had taught his two daughters to shoot. She didn't need to be a great shot because she was only a dozen feet away from him but between him and the door. He would need to try to talk his way out of this one.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you. I truly never meant to do that. I thought that by letting you know that you were free of me that you would find someone to love who would love you."

"Sure, and who would love one of Adam Cartwright's castoffs. No one wanted me. My parents pressured me to find a husband. Women my age were married and had one or two children at least. There were no dances, no picnics, and no walks in the moonlight with a handsome young man. Not me. No, you ruined my chance for that."

"I had no idea that it was like that for you."

"Of course you didn't. All you ever thought about was yourself and what you wanted and what was good for you no matter how bad it was for me. You didn't want me so it didn't matter what I wanted." Adam had nothing to say knowing that anything he said at this point was only likely to make her angrier than she already was. "Marriage to a respectable man: that's what my parents wanted for me so as soon as Janus was there and asking to court me, they made me say yes. He wanted to marry me, and they told me I had to do that or they would disown me. So I married him."

"So you had your big house and servants and no children. It's what you wanted. I'm sorry he died, but you must have expected that too as he was so much older than you."

"Oh, I expected it all right. I expected it right up to the night he collapsed and died from the arsenic I had been feeding him every night in that whiskey he liked so much."

"You murdered him? Why?" Shocked by her revelation, Adam hadn't even thought before speaking. He wished he had as he saw the look she gave him.

"That old man disappointed me and he hurt me. He wasn't at all what I had wanted in a husband. He drank too much and he got mean. He hit me. He said terrible things to me. Then I saw you and her in church. It disgusted me to see how happy you were. Well no more."

"I'm sorry you were so unhappy. I never meant to be cruel to you. When I tried to talk with you, you told me to go away. Well, I'm here now. You can say anything to me that you want to say."

"Of course I can. I'm the one with the gun. You have to listen to anything I say. I like this. I like having power over you. I've had power over other people, you know, but they never knew. They never guessed."

"What power did you have?"

"Why I had the power of life and death. Just like the power I have over you right now. You don't seem to be so arrogant and proud now."

"I know it's not enough, but I am sorry. I will do anything I can to help you now. You do need help, don't you? You killed your husband."

"I never needed any help before when I killed someone. Every time, I did it all without your help so I don't need it now."

Too shocked to know what to say, Adam waited for what she would reveal next. He didn't have to wait long. He realized she was insane, but that made her even more dangerous. He had no way to use logic and reason to convince her not to kill him. He tried to think of how one could talk to a mad woman. He flashed back to his friend Ross who had slipped over to the dark side. He could think of nothing in that experience that could help him here.

"My sister with all those children she had made my parents so proud. My parents talked and talked about her and bragged to everyone about her and her children. Nothing I did or was ever made them brag about me. I had a bigger house and a wealthy husband. I helped them out financially several times. Well, I got tired of that. It wasn't fair. My sister died in childbirth, you know. It was so appropriate that the woman who pushed out babies like a brood mare died after giving birth one last time. She just couldn't catch her breath when the midwife took the baby out of the room to show to her idiot husband. That pillow I held over her face was just too much for her."

Adam knew what he had to ask next. "So the fire at your parents' home was no accident, was it?"

"You're catching on. You are the smartest of the people I decided to kill. It won't do you any good though. You'll die just the same."

"Your parents? How could you have killed them? They died in a fire that the sheriff said was an accident, didn't he?" Adam gave her a gentle reminder. He hoped that somehow his father might track him down and interrupt this crazy plan of hers.

"Oh, good guesses since you weren't here when it happened."

"I saw the burned out house when my brothers and I were riding. They took me over to see it because they thought it was so sad."

"It wasn't a sad thing. It was a happy day. They smiled so when I brought them some homemade apple cider. It was homemade too. I pressed those apples myself and made sure the cider was nice and dark and rich. It was laced with laudanum too. I had some from when I had a terrible toothache. I didn't like taking it so I had a lot. Later when they were sleeping very soundly, I went inside and tipped over that lamp. I made sure to spread a lot of the lamp oil around to get that fire burning very nicely before anyone would see it. I couldn't take the chance that either of them would be rescued. No, my plan was perfect. They were baked to a crisp by the time that fire was out. Everyone was so nice saying how terrible it was that I lost my sister and both of my parents too only months apart. I finally got the attention I deserved, but it didn't last. Then when Janus died only a week and a half ago, well, people gave me attention again. The bank wanted to be sure I kept those accounts with them. They treat me with respect now."

"But that will all go away if you kill me. No one will give you respect then."

"Oh, but they'll never know. Did I tell you that this isn't my room? I got this key when the clerk was busy getting me clean towels. I'm sure he never missed it. At this time of year, there aren't that many people in town. I'm having my house painted inside and out and redecorated so I told him I would need a room for a few days to keep away from all that noise and dirt. Now that's enough talking. There's a few women's underthings left beside the bed that is all mussed up like it was used by two lovers. Everyone will think you met a lover here and she turned on you. You know why you're going to die so the only thing left to do is to finish that."

Before Adam could even raise his hand to object or say anything, she raised the pistol and fired into his chest. He fell back and rolled to his side and collapsed face down. She dropped the pistol on the floor and hastily exited the room using the door into the adjoining room. She locked that, and then waited until she was sure no one was in the hall. Very quickly, she moved to the back stairs and up to her room at the back of the hotel on the third floor. She quickly took off the cloak, her shoes, and her dress slipping on her robe and slippers. Then she moved to the bed and lay back with a smile. She had done it. There was no one else on her list. She had thought she would feel more joy at this point, but instead, she felt rather depressed. She had dreamed for years of taking revenge on those she blamed for her unhappiness. She had never felt more alive and joyous than when she had concocted this elaborate plan and started to put it into motion nearly half a year earlier. She plotted her sister's death first thinking that would be the easiest, and when she added Adam to her list, she had decided that he would be her last victim because his death would arouse the most interest. Now she was finished but her expected elation was more of a deflation. She heard noise and then answered her door telling the hotel clerk that she had heard something but wasn't sure what it was. Then she went back to bed and fell into a restful sleep until she was awakened. It was Sheriff Roy Coffee at her door. Earlier it had been the hotel clerk.

"No, Sheriff, I can't tell you where the shot came from. I wasn't even sure what it was. I was sleeping and awoke when I heard it. I guessed it was some cowboy shooting in the street as happens here all too often."

"Sorry, ma'am, but we have to ask everyone. We still haven't found where that shot came from. We'll be on our way, and sorry again for disturbing your rest."

When Roy had heard the shot, he had rushed from his rounds to the vicinity but had seen nothing. A short time later, the hotel clerk had come to him to say he thought that a shot had been fired in the hotel, but he had questioned all the guests and no one knew where the shot had been fired.

"I dunno, Sheriff, cause I thought it came from upstairs but when I knocked on the doors, all the guests said they didn't know nothting."

"Well, we're gonna go ask 'em again." Clem was there by that time and the two men worked their way through the second and third floors of the hotel knocking on guest doors and questioning everyone but got no useful information. As they finished on the third floor, Roy walked down the back stairs of the hotel thinking perhaps the shot had been fired on the back staircase. As he got to the second floor landing, he stopped and sniffed the air. He moved to the room that was at that far end of the second floor hallway. He sniffed again and looked at the hotel clerk who had accompanied them to let them know which rooms were occupied.

"Open this door. With what I'm smelling, this is where it happened."

"But Sheriff, no one is staying in this room."

"Open it or I'll kick the door in myself!" Pausing just a second to calm down, Roy had more instructions. "Use your key and unlock the door and then step back. Clem, you get on the other side of the door over there. We don't know what we got here." Once the door was unlocked and the clerk had stepped back, Roy yelled out that he was the sheriff and whoever was inside ought to open the door. There was no sound so Roy pushed the door open. The smells were undoubtedly what one would expect with a severe gunshot wound. Roy moved into the room and asked the clerk to light a lamp. When he did, Roy knelt next to the man on the floor and rolled him over onto his side. Gasping in surprise as he knelt next to Adam he lay on the rug saturated with his blood, he felt for a pulse and told Clem to get the doctor.

The clerk had no idea why Adam was in his hotel, and had never seen someone up close who had been shot. "Is he alive?"

"Course he's alive. I asked for the doc, didn't I? Now help me get him up on the bed. He's lost a lot of blood, and we can't move him over to the doc's. He's barely breathing and his heart is beating but real soft."

Asleep in her room up above, Mrs. Janus never heard the doctor arrive and ask someone to get his nurse out of bed. She didn't hear the soft talk in the second floor hallway as Sheriff Roy Coffee asked the second floor guests what they had seen and heard. She never heard Ben Cartwright arrive nor the rest of the Cartwrights arriving later to take up a vigil for Adam. She slept peacefully all night not knowing that she had failed to complete the final task in her plan of revenge.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Roy, what happened? I was supposed to meet Adam hours ago. I couldn't find him and his horse was still tied up outside the bank."

"I don't know, Ben. I found him when I was checking to see where that gunshot came from. Turned out, it was the shot that somebody took trying to kill Adam. His pistol was in his holster and the hammer loop was still on the tie downs were hanging loose. He never expected to be shot. Somebody got the drop on him, and he never had a chance."

"How bad was it?"

Roy looked over at Mo wondering how much he should say.

"Tell me how badly my husband was hurt. I have a right to know."

Roy looked at Ben who nodded. "He was shot in the right side of the chest. It was a small caliber. Clem and I figured maybe a thirty-eight. The bullet hit something he had in his shirt pocket and then hit a rib and shattered it. It traveled to the side instead of going straight in. If it had, well, you know what we'd be saying now. Anyway, doc's figuring on cleaning up the bone and seeing about sewing him up. The worst problem may be all the blood he lost. He laid there for over an hour before we found him. We heard the gunshot before five and didn't find him until six. Doc's been with him ever since. Whoever did this planned it out. It was no robbery or anything like that."

"What did the bullet hit in his pocket?"

"I got it in my pocket. Near as I can tell, it's a locket. It was in a small velvet box, but it's pretty smashed up now."

"Please may I have it? I want it." Mo had moved next to Roy. The family had taken the room adjoining the one where Doctor Martin was working on Adam. Mo put out her hand, but Roy hesitated.

"Ma'am, it's not a pretty sight. He was laying face down when we found him so this was under him, and it's a mess."

"I still want it. Please."

Roy reached into this pocket pulling out his handkerchief. He unwrapped the damaged and bloody locket and handed it to Mo who clasped it in both hands and held it to the center of her chest over her heart as tears began to flow again. She had thought she had gotten control of her tears but found that they were right there ready to flow. She cried silently for a time as Ben put his arms around her to try to comfort her as well as he could, but he knew the only comfort any of them would get would be for Doc Martin to step out of that room and say Adam was going to live.

Next door, Doctor Paul Martin sat at Adam's side as his nurse cleaned up the area. At some point, they would need to get clean sheets for the bed, but for the time being, Paul didn't want to disturb his patient at all. He held Adam's wrist in his willing the heart rate to get stronger. It was so weak and slow that he feared it could stop at any moment. He wasn't sure how much blood someone could lose and still live, but he knew that Adam was close to that limit. Every few minutes, he put a spoonful of water in Adam's mouth. At least his swallowing reflex was working. Each time, he swallowed the water in his mouth as one would swallow excess saliva. It wasn't a conscious act, but at least fluid was slowly being replenished in his body. If his prayers were answered, in about a month or two, Adam would be up and walking around like nothing terrible had happened. Paul noted the small scar from the bullet wound in his arm that he had stitched up only a few weeks or so before. It had healed well and except for being quite pink yet, the scar hardly showed. The scar he would carry from the bullet wound he got this night though would be far more extensive. By the time Paul had finished cleaning the wound, debriding the damaged tissue that could not be saved, and then stitching the whole thing together, the entire length of the wound was over ten inches. At the same time, Paul knew that Adam had been lucky. That bullet had been meant to kill him, but it hit a locket that deflected it to a rib that deflected it further. If not, it would likely have killed him immediately.

In the room next door, Mo was thinking that Adam's past had caught up with him despite their assurances that he would have no more fear of reprisals for the work he had done. She looked at Ben who was the only one there who had an idea of why anyone would want to plan the murder of Adam. When Ben looked at her, he knew they were thinking the same thing. He did his best to reassure her.

"We'll have a guard on him every second of every day until whoever did this is caught. There's a deputy in the hallway right now watching, and we're right here. We'll protect him now that we know what the danger is."

"Ben, the men they send will be professionals. It's going to take a lot to protect him."

"I know but we have numbers. We'll find a way to do this."

Hoss and Joe wondered what that exchange was about but neither Mo nor Ben was willing to talk at that point. They wanted the news that Adam had survived this attempt before they began making plans for the future. For the next few hours, they waited in silence worrying that it was taking an extremely long time for Paul to come out to tell them about Adam's condition. In the room with Adam, Paul continued to do what he had been doing. His nurse sat in the chair and fell asleep knowing she would be needed in a few hours to do what the doctor was doing when he needed to get some sleep. It was about five in the morning before Paul opened the door to the adjoining room to say that he had hope that Adam would make it. He let the family in to see him, but warned them to be quiet and not say much.

"He's extremely weak, and I don't want him wasting any energy responding to any of you. At this point, I have no idea how aware he even is of what is happening around him. You can certainly see how pale he is and how still he is. I've been giving him water by the spoonful every few minutes. He swallows that reflexively."

"Whadya mean, Doc?"

"Hoss, it's like when you swallow the extra saliva in your mouth. You don't think about it, and you do it when you're awake and when you're sleeping. Your body simply does it. By giving him a spoonful of water, I'm tricking the body into thinking it's saliva so he simply swallows. The way he is, if I tried to give him a drink from a cup or bottle, I'm afraid he would choke. You can take turns sitting with him if you wish. We'll show you what to do, and one of us will be in the room with you at all times."

Moving forward, Mo sat in the chair that the doctor vacated. Paul smiled at Ben knowing how much he wanted that chair. As the nurse explained to Mo what to do, Paul talked to Ben and his other sons as they moved back into the adjoining room.

"Go get some breakfast. I know you're going to say you aren't hungry, but you're going to need your strength over the next couple of days. Get some food and some sleep. Every two hours, switch off on who's sitting with him. That will keep you more alert and observant while you're with him."

So for the next few days, there was always someone by Adam's side. They still didn't want to move him so Doctor Martin made the hotel his second office bringing over a number of things that could be used for Adam's care. The sheets were changed, a urinal was placed, and a screen was set up next to the bed to give Adam some privacy when he awakened. They prayed that it would be soon but by the third morning, it was clear that the strain of waiting was wearing on all of them as Hoss and Joe snapped at each other and then Mo told them to get the hell out of there before they disturbed Adam.

"Maybe we should disturb him. Maybe we're keeping it too quiet and that's why he's still asleep."

"Joe, you know the doctor said he needed quiet to recuperate. He's getting stronger. You know he isn't as pale as when we first saw him."

The nurse came out then and told them all to go get some breakfast and some sleep. Ben was taking his turn sitting with his oldest son. In between giving him a spoonful of water every few minutes, Ben prayed. When Adam opened his eyes about an hour later, that was what he first saw. His father was sitting by his bed with his chin on his chest and his lips moving slightly. Adam knew he must be praying. He tried very hard to lift his hand and touch his father's hand, but his arm felt like lead weights were holding it down so instead he tried to say pa but all that came out sounded more like a puff of air than any word. It was more than he had done in days though so Ben jerked his head up when he heard it.

"Adam, son, you're awake. I've been praying so for that." Ben reached out and gently touched his son's cheek. It was warm, but there was no significant fever. "Do you want some water?" All Adam could do was to open his lips as an invitation. After glancing at the nurse who pointed down letting Ben know she would summon the others, he gave Adam water by the spoonful until he closed his lips signaling that he had enough. Then he tried to talk again. He wanted to see Mo but didn't have the strength to say her name either.

"The nurse is already getting her and your brothers. They went to get some breakfast and some sleep. You've made it very hard on all of us taking care of you for the past few days." Adam got an alarmed look at that so Ben explained how he had been found, that he had been shot, and how long he had been unaware of his surroundings. "A couple of times we thought you were awake because your eyes were open and we could give you a drink, but each time you never responded to anything. Doctor Martin said you were doing the equivalent of sleep-walking even though you were resting in bed. This time I could see that you were looking at me and knew who I was. Son, I've been praying for that so much."

Mo came into the room then and Ben stood letting her have the chair. She reached out and pressed Adam's hand between hers. Adam had vague memories of that happening quite often recently. He tried to smile but it was more of a grimace as nothing seemed to be working correctly for him. He could only do his best to hold his wife's hand. It was a light press of his fingers, but Mo felt it. She leaned over and kissed him then.

"Why did you come up to this room? What kind of foolish chance did you take knowing that there were men who wanted to hurt you?" Adam squeezed his eyes shut then trying to remember what had happened and couldn't. He looked back at Mo with a look pleading for her understanding. "I'm sorry. I should never have said that. I'm so relieved that you're awake, and I know you're going to be well again soon. Benny must be terribly worried by now." Adam frowned a little so that Mo explained. "He's with Hop Sing, and Candy and Griff said they would help too. I'm sure they're spoiling him terribly, but he's never been away from both of us for even a day so this must be hard on him too." Adam quirked up one eyebrow. "Yes, I'll bring him in to see you. Now that I know you're going to be all right, I'll go home later today and get some clean clothing, and I'll bring Benny to town tomorrow."

While the family began to relax, Mrs. Janus was getting into more and more of a panic. She had meticulously planned out her vengeance, but she had failed to plan out any kind of contingency plan if any part of what she wanted to accomplish didn't go as she expected. When she had heard that Adam was alive, she was shocked. She had shot him at point blank range to the left center of his chest. He should have died fairly quickly because if the shot missed his heart, it should have torn through his chest and lungs doing irreparable harm. So she couldn't imagine he was alive except by some miracle and then assumed he would die a more slow and agonizing death. Instead, she saw his wife and brothers in the hotel restaurant and that nurse had come to tell them that Adam was awake. She couldn't imagine how he could be awake, but she knew that she had to leave. If he was awake, they would soon know she was the one who shot him. It was all so inconceivable to her, but she told the clerk she would be checking out and would he have her carriage brought around to the front of the hotel. With haste, she packed her belongings and carried them to the carriage herself. She paid her bill and drove out of town in a hurry headed to her home to pack and leave as quickly as she could. She was nearly home before she realized she should have stopped at the bank to withdraw funds. Instead she decided to do that in Carson City. Hopefully there would not be any pursuit of her yet, but she couldn't be sure of that.

In Virginia City, Sheriff Roy Coffee heard too that Adam was awake. He went to the hotel to get the answer to the most important question. "Adam, who shot you? I know it was someone you knew because the hammer loop was still in place on your pistol. Who was it, son?"

Frowning, Adam looked down and again tried to remember what had happened to him. He couldn't picture the scene at all. He looked back at Roy and whispered his answer. "I don't know."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The door to Adam's room was kept locked. All visitors had to come through the adjoining room where one or more of the Cartwrights were always present. Ben insisted that all of them keep their pistols on unless they went to another room to sleep. Ben took the rooms across the hall from Adam's room giving one to Mo and Benny to use and the other for the men to share. Finally after a few days of that, Joe had enough of the precautions that were being taken without them being informed of why they were being taken. Adam was being moved to the Ponderosa and Ben had orchestrated it like a military campaign. Hoss and Joe were there and armed, but Ben had brought Candy as well. Hop Sing was driving the carriage and Mo was seated with Adam. Joe knew that both Mo and Hop Sing had shotguns in easy reach. Benny had gone home with Griff who was waiting for them and making sure the house was secure. He had instructions too to have some of the hands keeping watch for any strangers approaching.

"Pa, what's going on? You act like you think we're under siege or something. Just how dangerous is this man who you think shot Adam?"

"Very dangerous, but I can't tell you any more. That will be up to Adam and Mo when we get home. Know that if they are going to make another attempt, they are professionals. It was only the locket that saved Adam's life the first time." Luck had saved him that first time. Ben was determined that he would take all precautions to make sure there would be no second time especially so soon after the first. Any additional injury could mean he would die.

Mo was wearing that locket which had saved his life. She had it tucked down under the neckline of her dress so all that showed was the chain. Adam knew it was there because she had showed him. After washing it thoroughly, Mo had brought it to him. It had a perfect hole in the middle where the bullet had torn its way through the delicate gold filigree of the cover and out the solid gold back of the locket. If not for that locket, Adam would have taken a bullet directly into his chest, and they would have been burying him instead of taking him home. In fact, if the shot had been right on target, he could not have survived, but the shooter had fired up at Adam with the shot a little low and to the left hitting him in the pocket of his shirt where he had tucked away the gift he had gotten for his wife. He had turned away slightly from the shooter, but without the locket, it still would have been a mortal wound. Like the ring Mo had gotten from Adam in New Orleans when they were first married, the locket that had saved him for her was going to be something she never gave up. Adam still did not remember the shooting, but Doctor Martin said he might as he regained his strength and the pain and fear from the attack faded in him memory and allowed the other memories to emerge. He did say that is was possible that Adam would not remember the actual shooting. Often people who had that kind of injury could remember before and after but not the attack itself. Only time would tell if he would remember enough to identify his attacker.

In Carson City, Mrs. Janus was reading the newspaper and smiling over her breakfast. She had intended on fleeing, but the article in the paper reassured her that she had time to complete her plan. The paper was two days old but reported that Adam Cartwright, son of prominent rancher Ben Cartwright, had been nearly killed, but also stated that he had been so badly injured that he could not remember who had shot him. She read it over each morning to give herself confidence to face the day. References to the shooter as a man in the article meant that the Sheriff and everyone else had no idea that she was involved. In fact, they had not assumed it was a woman based on the articles she had left in the room. She wondered at that, but then supposed they couldn't picture a woman getting the drop on Adam so they must have assumed it was a jealous husband who had shot him. She was so confident that she had escaped without suspicion that she decided she could head home after breakfast. She needed to plan. She had added Adam to her list when she saw that he had returned to Virginia City, but she thought that perhaps she had been too hasty in the plan to kill Adam. She had meticulously planned and executed the other murders. Now she needed that kind of plan which would increase the certainty of success. She wasn't at all sure what that plan would be, but she had some time now to work on the one thing she still wanted to do. She found it invigorating to have a goal again.

On the road to the Ponderosa, Ben rode up beside the carriage. Adam had a blanket around his shoulders and another across his lap. Mo smiled up at Ben as Adam slept with his head resting on her shoulder. He was tolerating the move well. Ben nodded and rode ahead to ask Joe if he saw anything out of the ordinary. He had not, so Ben rode back to ask Hoss and Candy the same thing. Nothing had been seen by either of the two men to Ben rode up next to the carriage again. That was the pattern for the time it took to make the trip to the Ponderosa. On nearing the Ponderosa ranch house, they were greeted by the two hands watching the road. Others were spread around the perimeter of the property, but none had seen anything unusual. Hoss and Candy got Adam into the house and up to a bedroom where he promptly fell asleep again.

By early afternoon, Mo decided to wake Adam. As she leaned over him to kiss him and wake him, the locket fell from her dress and was dangling in the air above him when he opened his eyes. He reached out for it and wrapped his hand gently around it.

"It's warm from being next to you. I was going to wrap it in paper and make it look like an Easter egg. When you and Benny searched for eggs, you were supposed to find it and inside would be picture of all three of us. I never got the chance to put the picture in it. Now I've made all of you miss Easter too."

"No, Ben said we'll have Easter on Sunday. It's a week late, but we'll all be together. Benny won't know the difference anyway."

"He's done very well, hasn't he? Pa said he's been minding everyone very well. We taught him well, didn't we, sweetheart?"

"You know he's being spoiled terribly by everyone. They all want to take your place and make sure Benny doesn't miss you too much. So there are six men at his beck and call for play and attention. You're going to have a tough time keeping up with that when you finally get back on your feet."

"If you could help me a bit, I think I can make it downstairs on my own."

"No, you can walk to the chair by the fireplace here in our bedroom. That will be enough for now. I don't want you trying the stairs without Hoss helping you. I think he's the only one who could catch you if you fell. It will take too much energy for you to go down and then back up those stairs again today. Once each day will be enough until you regain your strength."

Adam put out his hands out and palm up to say he conceded. Mo helped him get his legs over the side of the bed and then helped him stand and walk the short distance to the chair by the fireplace.

"All right, now that you're awake, have you decided it's time to tell his family what you did while in government service and why we had to flee the country for several years? Ben and I talked a little. We think you should."

"I think so too. If anyone is at risk, they should know what it is we may be facing."

Mo went to call the other family members including Hop Sing into the room. Adam suggested that they could include Candy too because he would be in charge of any men set on guard and should be able to give them complete instructions. Adam thought that if his family trusted the man so much, he could as well. Once everyone was in the room and seated comfortably after Hoss brought in three more chairs and Joe sat on the bed as Mo sat on the arm of Adam's chair as Ben gave a little introduction before Adam began to tell the story.

"We never believed that Adam was going to see a woman in that room. We think that was an attempt to throw us off the trail of who did it. There are some dangerous people that Adam has crossed in the years he was first gone from here. I'll let him tell you and me more about that."

"Now none of the details of what I am telling you can leave this room. It started as a favor for a friend and a service to our government. If it works, Cuba will be free and slavery there will be ended. Even if it fails, thousands of slaves have already been set free. I maintained my cover there even though I was beaten and otherwise tempted to tell them what I was doing. All I admitted as going there to visit a friend I met in college and then we happened to go visit his cousin who is the man who started the rebellion in Cuba. The Spanish were not happy with me, and they suspected all along that I had something to do with what happened. I had to leave France because there was an effort underway to get me. When I returned, I asked if there was more I could do. I was sent to Mexico, and I am not in trouble with their government. Both Juarez and Diaz were pleased with help I gave them, but one of the Spanish spies who was in Cuba arrived in Mexico and involved me in her plot to kill Juarez. I turned her over to the authorities who disposed of her."

"Adam, you mean they killed her? A woman?"

"Hoss, she was a snake more than she was a woman. She caused the deaths of more men than anyone I have ever met. However, the Spanish now had another reason to want revenge on me. I had to come back to the United States where I was promptly sent on a mission to disrupt the plans of some bandits who were going to stir up the tribes to raid into the states and try to draw our Army into Mexico to start a war there. I ended up having to kill two of their leaders and then I stole the money they had collected to finance their operations. The leaders who were left swore to get me and put a reward out on me. That's when it was decided that it would be best if I left the country. If I had come home then, I would have brought grave danger with me. Mo went with me and agreed to be my wife. We went to Australia because we wanted to see the country, and we were told it was one of the few places where we would be safe. We didn't come home until we were informed that the vendettas against me were defunct. Now with this, I guess we might have been wrong."

"Son, 'might have been wrong'? Isn't it certain that you are not safe?"

"Pa, I can't remember who shot me. I remember being at the bank with you and then going to the jewelry store. After that, it gets very murky. In my mind, I see you and Mo and my brothers and other people but I can't sort out the when and where. It could be because of the missions I did for the government, but we can't rule out other possibilities."

"Paul said if you didn't try so hard to remember, and if you worked on getting stronger again, your mind might sort it all out for you in time."

"That's the crux of the problem then, isn't it. Do we have time for me to remember? Unless we know the threat, how can we face it?"

At that moment, Benny came running into the room, but was scooped up by Hoss before he could jump into Adam's lap which had been his intent. Griff was at the door almost immediately apologizing. "He said he wanted to play hide-and-seek. When I started counting, he must have taken off for the upstairs. I'm real sorry he got away from me."

"It's all right, Griff. We were nearly done here. Hoss, bring Benny over by Adam please but don't let him go yet." Mo reached down and unbuttoned Adam's shirt. She knew she could tell Benny that his father was hurt, but it would work better if he could see the hurt. "Benny, you know how you have small hurts, and Mama puts a bandage on the ones that bleed and ice on ones that swell? Your Papa has a very big hurt. You have to be careful so you don't bump or touch any of it or Papa could get very sick." By then, Mo was ready to show him and opened Adam's shirt to show the large white bandage that encircled his chest with a separate piece that went up and over his shoulder to help hold the large bandage in place. There was also extensive bruising on his abdomen from the internal bleeding. Benny got very quiet and looked up into his father's eyes.

"Papa, what did you do?"

"Benny, someone shot me. I'll be all right, but it's going to take a lot of time, and I won't be able to play with you for a very long time."

"Will you still be able to tell me stories and read to me?"

"Yes, son, I can do that."

"Can I still sit on your lap if I promise not to touch you?"

"You can sit on my lap, and you can touch me, but you'll have to remember to be gentle."

"Uncle Hoss told me I had to be gentle with the kittens, and I was. Right, Uncle Hoss, I was gentle, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were, Benny, and that's how you need to be with your Papa. Move slow like and only gentle touches."

"I gotta move slow too? Papa's not afraid of me. You said I had to move slow with the kittens cause they was afraid of me."

"Listen, you come busting in here like you done a minute ago, and your Papa is gonna be afraid of what you could do to him. So slow and easy is the way. You understand."

"Dadburnit, I shur do."

Adam put his left hand to his temple as if he was in pain. "Gonna, dadburnit, cause, and shur? Mo, we need to spend more time with our son. He's only been here a short time, and he already sounds like a ranch hand."

"Hey, he sounds like me! Boy, now that's how an uncle is sposed to teach up his only nephew, ain't it, dagnabit?" Hoss grinned at Adam daring him to say more, but Adam was too tired to do anything except smile and shake his head a little.

With Mo's help, Benny sat on Adam's lap and told him all the things he had been doing since his father had gone to town and not come home for almost a week. Even though Benny had spent several days in town, he hadn't had his father all to himself at any time because Adam was too weak. Later that afternoon, Adam wanted to go downstairs for dinner and sit at a table for a change. Mo told him that if he did, he would be so tired by the time he got down the stairs that he would have to turn around and come back up to his room to rest. They compromised, and Mo, Benny, and Ben joined Adam in the bedroom and had dinner at the small table in there. Ben went downstairs after dinner to discuss security arrangements with the others while Adam got to spend some time with his wife and son. He grew tired quickly and turned in at the same time as Benny. Once Mo got both of them tucked in, she turned down the lamp and sat at the window looking up at the constellations and saying prayers for her family's safety. She listened to Adam's soft breathing in the dark and thanked God too for keeping him with her and with Benny.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"There are people there. I see the bank president, and Pa, and Gretchen Janus. There are other faces too, but it's dark. I want to light a lamp and see who's there, but I can't. Then I wake up." Almost every night, Adam had disturbing dreams. It was if his mind waited for him to go to sleep and then sent bits and pieces of memories to him in his dreams. He tossed and turned trying to put the pieces together but he didn't know like what the puzzle was supposed to look so he had no method to follow. Each time he woke up, he felt like he was closer to knowing his assailant but couldn't put anything in a logical order and make sense of it.

"I do remember being shot now. I remember laying face down and unable to move. It was as if there was a bear sitting on me holding me down. I had trouble breathing. I heard people walking by and I heard voices. I heard a woman's voice too. That was very strange. I can't remember what she was saying though. I wanted to yell out too that I needed help, but I couldn't do more than get out a moan and even that hurt to do. Then it was all darkness until I woke up and saw Pa sitting by my bed. Even those first few days are a bit confused in my mind. I know that certain things happened, but it seemed like it all went by very fast and then I was headed home yet you tell me that it was four days before Doctor Martin said it was safe to move me home."

"You slept a lot. You probably spent twenty out of twenty-four hours sleeping those first few days. On that fourth day, you were able to stay awake a lot more. You were getting a bit stronger and more alert. That's when Paul said we could take you home. Ben had them work on the carriage to make sure the springs and everything were in great shape. He wanted to make the trip home as easy as possible for you."

"It must have been easy. I barely remember that either."

"You slept most of the way. Paul said to give you some hot chocolate to drink before we left, and to be sure that you were comfortable and warm. He thought you might sleep for most of the trip, and you did."

"I wish I could sleep through the night now. I'm sorry to disturb your sleep so much, but these dreams make me wake up."

"I don't mind. I would trade a million nights like this to keep you safe and at my side."

Wishing he could roll on his side and pull his wife to him, Adam had to be satisfied with taking her hand and holding it to his chest. "Sweetheart, I love you so much. I cannot imagine my life without you at my side."

"I know. I feel the same way. Now try to get back to sleep, but if you wake again, be sure to wake me and tell me what you remember. Somewhere in your mind is the identity of the person who shot you. If you can remember that, it would certainly help us protect you. You remember being shot now so perhaps it won't be too long until you remember who did that to you."

"I hope so. It feels wrong not to be able to remember. If I remember some things, I don't know why I can't remember the rest."

"Paul did say that you could be feeling guilty about what you did, and that might be interfering with your memory too."

"But I don't feel guilty about any of those things I did. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time, and I haven't changed my mind. Do you think there was something that I should feel guilt for doing?"

"No, and that's what's been making me wonder if it is the Spanish or the outlaws who did this. Who else could hold a grudge against you for something you're done, and you feel guilty about it too?"

"I've made mistakes in my life. Any person harmed by a decision I made is potentially the one who did it."

"But who have you seen lately that fits that category? You've been gone a long time, but who could be nursing a grudge against you for some wrong they perceive that you did to them?"

That question got Adam thinking. As he fell asleep, it was the last thought on his mind. In the morning, he awoke and stared at the ceiling trying to remember as much as he could about his last dream. He had an image but it made no sense to him. He wasn't sure if he should actually say it to anyone even to Mo who might find it all very ludicrous and the product of a mind weakened by his ordeal as much as his body was weak. Yet, he couldn't shake the image. It seemed seared into his mind now that he had remembered if remembering was what he had done. It was very realistic, but he had to wonder if it was a fantasy his dreaming mind had concocted. When Mo awoke, he smiled at her as if nothing was wrong. He needed to think about it for a time before he said anything to anyone even her or his father who would be the two people most likely to listen without laughing. She helped him to dress, and then Hoss was there to help him down the stairs when he said he could sleep in the chair or on the settee if he got too tired. Benny was waiting for his father and sat beside him for breakfast as he did every morning wanting as much time beside him as he could get. After breakfast, Hoss and Joe took Benny with them as they did some chores. After they left, Mo and Ben noticed how quiet Adam got, and both worried that he was physically not feeling well. As he sat and read but mostly stared at the pages, Mo touched his cheek and forehead several times until he batted her hand away in frustration.

"I'm not getting sick."

"Then why are you acting this way? You have hardly said a word, and when you do, you snap at us. What's bothering you so much? Have you remembered something you don't want to tell us?"

Dropping his head, Adam rubbed the back of his neck hoping that Mo's inherent need to give him comfort would make her forget her question. However Mo knew him too well and recognized the delaying tactic also meant to divert her attention from the questions she had asked. At his desk, Ben smiled to hear how she talked to Adam.

"Don't you try pulling that on me. I know you try to evade answering by moving attention to another topic. So I must have hit close to home, and something is bothering you so out with it."

Leaning back into the blue chair, Adam regarded his wife with something akin to frustration because she knew him so well. Then he glanced over to see that his father was smiling and probably enjoying all of this. He wanted more time to think about what he had remembered hoping to remember more, but apparently he wasn't going to get that time. He hoped that Benny would rush in from outside, but that didn't work either. He sighed deeply and decided to tell them.

"You know that Roy said there were some women's things in that room where I was shot? He said the bed was mussed?" Mo and Ben nodded to each of those questions that were more statements than anything. "You know I wasn't in that room long enough for anything to have happened? Roy said too that it looked like an amateurish attempt to make it look like I had met a woman there. You believe that, don't you?" It was another set of questions as statements, but Adam wanted to be sure to lay the groundwork before he told them what he thought they might find shocking. "There was a woman in that room. I remember Gretchen Janus holding a pistol on me. That's all I remember."

Looking from Adam to Ben and back to Adam, Mo had to ask. "Who's Gretchen Janus?"

Ben knew Adam wouldn't likely want to explain too much of that so he did. "Gretchen and Adam were involved with each other when they were too young to be so serious. Marie and I were very worried that Adam would end up marrying her instead of going off to college."

"Why would he have gotten married so young especially if he wanted to go to college?" Even as she asked the question, Mo guessed the answer. "Oh, so you and she were that involved. But why would she want to kill you now? That must be over twenty years ago."

"Yes, it was, and I didn't want to say anything because it doesn't make any sense to me at all, but last night, I had the image of her standing there with a pistol aimed at me. It was a small pistol like the one that a woman is likely to carry."

Suddenly Ben was very interested in this new theory. He didn't think any of them had ever mentioned the caliber of the bullet that had nearly ended his life. He almost gasped in surprise at Adam's next statement.

"I can't be sure, but it looked like it wasn't much more than a thirty-eight."

Mo did gasp then, and Ben moved from his desk to the red chair. "Adam, did anyone ever tell you what caliber of pistol was used to shoot you?"

"No, but based on how you two reacted, I'm guessing it was a thirty-eight?"

Ben nodded as Mo pressed her hands to her lips.

"A thirty-eight: I should have known that when I saw the bullet hole in the locket, but I wasn't thinking about that then."

"Adam, can you remember any more? Did she say anything to you about why she would want to shoot you?"

"Mo, all I remember so far is that she was aiming a pistol at me. I can't even say she shot me except that is the logical conclusion to draw. She was only ten or twelve feet away. The room was cold." Suddenly Adam had remembered that. He didn't know how, but he almost shivered with the memory. "So what do we do now? A memory from a dream is hardly evidence, but now I am sure it was her pointing that pistol at me. What doesn't make any sense is why she would do that. I hadn't seen her in years except in church and on my way to the jeweler's shop that day." As Adam talked, some memories were returning. He looked at Ben. "She was in church when Mo and I renewed our vows. She said something that I can't recall, but it was decidedly unfriendly especially in that setting." Mo and Ben were very quiet letting Adam try to remember more. Just then Hoss and Joe came in the house with Benny. Very quickly Ben explained what Adam had remembered. Hoss was a bit skeptical until they got to the part about her being in church and saying something that Adam didn't like but couldn't remember.

"Aw, heck, I remember that. She said congratulations but then something like you finally got the 'brood mare' you always wanted. I wanted to kick her right on out of there, but she turned and left and never came to the party neither. I never figured her for the killer type though. She was so broke up after her sister, and then her parents, and then her husband died. Poor gal probably ain't right in the head losing everybody in her family in less than a year."

With a hand to his forehead, Adam dropped his head and thought. So much was coming back so fast, it was confusing. Thankfully, his family let him have time to think. Joe took Benny into the kitchen. Hop Sing adored the boy and always had a glass of milk or juice as well as a snack when Benny cleaned up after coming in the house. Hop Sing liked that Benny was careful not to bring any dirt into the house, and always asked before taking anything. That worked well for the family at that moment because Hop Sing very willingly took over supervision of young Benny. Joe returned to the great room about the time that Adam raised his head and began talking.

"She saw me on the street when I was going to the jeweler's to pick up that locket for Mo. She said she had a problem and I was the only one who could help her do what she needed to do. She said it wouldn't take long and I should come to her room in the hotel but to use the back entrance. She said her room was the one by the back stairs on the second floor. I got there and she was waiting for me. The room was cold with the window open. She was wearing a cloak, but the bed looked like it had been used. Then she started in on how I had wronged her so badly. I tried to explain and apologize, but she wasn't willing to forgive. Then somehow, she broached a subject that shocked me. She talked about how her sister died after giving birth."

"I remember that. The story was that she was so weak after giving birth for the fourth time in four years that she up and died. I helped carry her coffin to the grave. I remember Gretchen being there all dressed in black. It wasn't the last time neither. There were two more funerals she had to wear that black for."

"She killed her sister by smothering her with a pillow just after she gave birth. Hoss, she was the cause of the next two funerals too. She said she started the fire in her parents' home after giving them apple cider laced with laudanum. She said she killed her husband by feeding him arsenic in his whiskey."

There was absolute silence when Adam finished revealing those details. The story he had told was so preposterous as well as monstrous and yet so believable. Mo was concerned though at what Adam had done.

"Adam, that was such a strange request. Why would you take a foolish chance like that and go up to her room alone and unseen by anyone. Weren't you at all suspicious?"

"That's what is so ironic. I thought she was worried about what people would think of me for meeting with her. I thought that's why she wanted a secret meeting. She told me she was staying at the hotel because her house was being renovated. I had no reason not to believe her, and I didn't see a woman, especially Gretchen, as that much of a threat or any threat at all that day. She's barely five feet tall. I know now that I should have been worried, but I wasn't thinking about her being a physical danger at that time."

Hoss slapped his knee. "That's it. That's what I been wondering about. I knew there was something that the doc said that didn't make no sense. Now I know what it was."

Everyone looked over at Hoss who smiled because no one else had apparently thought about what he had finally understood. It was another piece of evidence.

"Doc said that the shot was fired up at Adam. Now a shorter man would fire up at him, but not so you would likely notice. For it to be something that Doc mentioned, it had to be from someone a lot shorter than Adam like Mrs. Janus."

Everyone was quiet then. Adam still couldn't remember all of the conversation he had with Gretchen that night, but he was confident he would. Ben looked over at him.

"Are you ready to tell Roy what you've remembered?"

"If he comes out here, I'll tell him everything I remember, but, Pa, it still probably won't be enough. Will people believe that I remembered these things, or will they think they're dreams I've had? After what I've been through and the medication Paul gave me, people may not believe me."

"No, maybe they won't, but we know who we're facing now. I'll tell Candy, and he can tell the men that there will be no guests, male or female, who get near this house without an armed escort. Joe, would you ride to town, tell Roy what Adam has remembered and what Hoss said. We would like him to come out here as soon as possible to talk to Adam."

Hoss volunteered to go with Joe, and by that evening, they returned saying that Roy would be there the next morning.

"At first, he thought we was joshing him, but when we told him everything, he said it made sense too. He had wondered a bit about all them people dying so close together, but until now had no reason to investigate. He said he was gonna talk to Doc Martin to see if there was any way to get any evidence so long after they died."

That night, Adam slept more peacefully than he had since before the shooting. He had answers to most of the questions and only had to remember the rest of the conversation he had had with Mrs. Gretchen Janus.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Now, Adam, I believe you. I know that you remember this just like you told me, but you can see what a lawyer defending her would say. We gotta come up with more evidence. Doc has some ideas, and I'm gonna go talk with her. Hopefully we can build up enough to prove she did it and to arrest her. Adam, did she give you a reason for shooting you or killing any of those others?"

"I'm sure she did, Roy. I can't be certain though. I think she said she was upset with her parents for favoring her sister over her by being so happy with all the children she had. Maybe she killed her sister because she was jealous of the attention she got from their parents. She did say that Janus drank too much, was mean to her, and even hit her sometimes. "

"And you?"

"I can only remember bits and pieces. She was mad that I went to college and left her behind. She was upset that I didn't take up with her when I got back. Why she decided to take revenge for that almost twenty years later makes me think there must be something important I'm forgetting."

"Maybe not, Adam. Maybe you remember it all just fine. Seems to me that a woman who could do what we think she did is crazy in the head. Could be that she blames you for her having to live with old Janus. He was a sourpuss, but I guess living with her coulda been what made him sour and turn to drink too."

"So all these years that she's been unhappy, she's been blaming me for it? I guess it makes sense if you're a crazy person."

"She's a very unhappy person too. I thought it was not having children and having to live with old Janus that made her that way, but now I'm thinking it was a lot more complicated than that. She's been nursing grudges against some people for a long time then. She planned those other murders real well too. I did think it was odd that four of them died so close together like that, but I never suspected her or anybody else of having anything to do with it. It seemed odd, but there's lots of odd things that happen."

"Roy, we saw her in church when Mo and I renewed our marriage vows. She was insulting, but it was brief and she left before anything major happened. Do you think that could be what made her decide to kill me?"

"It could be. She mighta got real upset seeing how happy you was, and she sure ain't a happy woman. Mighta been some jealousy too. She can't think that doing these things would make her happy, but apparently she does. You be careful out here. When she knows that we know, she's bound to do something. Woman like that is unpredictable. You would have to be God to know what she might do next. A woman killing her own mother and father and sister. Ain't it just the dangedest thing?"

Ben asked Roy what he planned to do next.

"I gotta go see a judge about digging up old Janus. Normally we'd ask the wife for a thing like that, but because it's to get evidence that she's the one who put him there, well, I reckon she ain't about to give us permission to dig him up."

"What evidence do you hope to get from a body buried that long?" Ben asked the question, but all of them had wondered the same thing.

"Doc Martin figures he can tell if the man likely died from arsenic poisoning. He said if she dosed him with high enough doses, there would be evidence on a body even one in the ground that long. It's a nasty business doing it, but if she murdered people, we have to do it. Now I have to try to see the circuit judge before he leaves Carson City. I'm heading there next. If I miss him, then we'll have to wait nearly a week until he gets back here."

"Can't you send him a wire?"

"Ben, I can't make a legal document go over the telegraph lines, and besides, I need to convince him to do it. I can't rightly do that with a wire. He'd like as not just say no. Now she can't get to Adam here, and I've got Clem keeping an eye on her. We'll get her, Ben. We will, but it may take a couple of weeks to get it all done. Now it'd be nice ifn I could head on over there and talk to her and she up and confesses, but what chance do you think that has of happening?"

"No, Roy, you're right of course. It's just been such an ordeal for everyone. It would be a godsend to have it be done."

"Now I got to get going. But, Adam, I need you to write up everything you told me and anything else you remember. Whoever witnessed what happened in church needs to write that up too. I may need that if the judge isn't agreeable to taking my word for all of this. Judges gotta get elected, and it won't be a popular thing to dig up a man buried with the words spoke over him by the minister. Good day to you all."

With that, Roy left to ride hard to Carson City. He missed the judge there so the whole thing had to wait almost a week for the circuit judge to arrive in Virginia City so that Roy could make a formal request for an exhumation. The judge insisted that Mrs. Janus be informed and be given the right to raise any objections she had to the order being issued. That was one thing Roy had hoped to avoid. He didn't want her to know that Adam remembered anything, and with that decision by the judge, she would know. Gretchen did object of course, but the judge found her objections did not meet the standards that the law required to halt the exhumation so he signed the order. The grave was on Janus property so he also had to issue a search warrant. As soon as the ink dried, Roy had several men and headed out with a wagon and shovels to exhume Janus and get him to the undertaker's office where Doctor Martin later did the examination to give them evidence of arsenic poisoning.

"Roy, we need to confirm this with some witnesses. Whoever put him in this coffin would know, but it appears he was bald when he died."

"Well, we know Janus wasn't bald. He had lots of hair even if it was gray."

"He was bald when he was buried, and the fingernails show discoloration too. I'm going to ask the Ophir Mine to give me some of the chemicals they use to test for arsenic. I'm sure I'm going to find high levels in the tissues that are left. It's too late today to do that, but I'll do it first thing in the morning."

"So we know he was poisoned. Now I gotta go talk to her and see what she's got to say about all this."

While Doctor Martin went to take a long hot bath to scrub away the smells of decaying human flesh, Sheriff Coffee rode back out to the Janus place to talk with Gretchen. She wasn't happy to see him and refused to answer his questions even when he made reference to what Paul had found. They could now show evidence that Janus was poisoned and they had Adam's statement of what he remembered that she had said she did it, but Roy knew that a jury might need a bit more evidence before they would even consider finding a woman guilty of doing something like that. He tried to rattle her by mentioning all the things Adam had told him. He never mentioned Adam's name, but Gretchen knew because she had never voiced any of those things to another living person. With her holding firm and denying any wrongdoing, Roy was going to have to call an inquest into the death of Janus. Paul would be called to testify as would Adam. If the inquest decided that Janus was murdered, and surely they would, then the next step would be for them to indicate who they thought ought to be charged with that murder. It was a ponderous process meant to protect the innocent, but for the guilty, it was a long process which gave them time to get a lawyer to provide a defense as well as time enough for the possibility that the suspect might flee before being charged. Roy worried about that the most as he rode back to town for another meeting with the judge. He had Adam's statement as well as a short one from Hoss about the incident in church. He also got Paul to talk to the judge as well. He hoped it was enough. It wasn't.

"I would like to see the formal test for arsenic in the body. The doctor has admitted that there are other possible causes for a man to be bald as well as the discolored fingernails. If you can show me that there was arsenic in the body, I'll order the inquest immediately. Otherwise I'll have to take it under advisement, and I can't be certain how I would rule. When can you get that test result to me?"

"We'll have it for you first thing tomorrow morning, Your Honor."

"Good. I'll have my clerk prepare the order, and I'll sign it as soon as you bring that evidence to me."

About midnight that night, the firebell rang in Virginia City causing near panic. Luckily there had been rain the night before and there was no wind. The only buildings that burned were the undertaker's office, the businesses on either side of that building and two small stables and two ramshackle houses behind the three storefront style offices. It was one city block that was burned down to ashes and rubble, and in all of that was Janus' body cremated beyond identification. Paul didn't know how he could possibly isolate the body's cremains nor how he could test them if he did. Roy had to report to the judge that there was no report and wouldn't be one on arsenic content in Janus' body. The judge said he would take the request for an inquest into consideration anyway but asked Roy to see about getting more evidence such as witnesses who saw Janus' body in the coffing and could testify to the baldness. Roy had to ride out to the Ponderosa then to give them the bad news about the fire.

All of them were upset, but Mo was particularly frustrated. "She struck again then."

"Mo, we don't know that."

"Sheriff, we do and so do you. I know you can't accuse her without evidence, but you know it was her as much as we know it. She has to be stopped before someone else dies. Have you considered how many lives could have been lost if that fire spread?"

"I understand that. We haven't come up with the cause of the fire yet, and with everything burned, maybe we never will. Clem was going to take a close look through the ashes once everything cools down. I'm going to keep pressuring the judge for an inquest. Ben, if you could use some of your influence with the governor's office that might help. We aren't asking to accuse anyone. We're only asking to have the matter looked into. Now that's not too much to ask, is it?"

"No, Roy, it isn't. I'll do my best to get the governor to make the request as well."

"What if there's no inquest?"

"Adam, then we'll have to build the case against her until we got enough to convince a jury. Now that could take some time. I would like to see her at an inquest though. I'd like to see her get asked some questions and have to face you as you say what she told you."

Mo agreed. "Yes, I would think having to face Adam would make that anger inside of her emerge. She would probably say something she shouldn't. She was so arrogant to tell all of that to Adam, and now she's probably even angrier with him not only for surviving but for knowing her secrets too. Now that you've talked to her, she knows he remembers because I bet she never told anyone else."

"Mo, I think you're probably right on all of that. The whole thing is unraveling for her, but that's what makes me worry more than anything. Now I gotta wonder what she's gonna do next. I do agree that the fire had to have been set by her, and I never saw that coming. Makes me worry that I won't see her next move coming either."

"She's coming here." Adam said it with conviction. As the others looked at him, he had to explain his reasoning. "She's getting backed into a corner. She came out viciously by starting that fire to eliminate the evidence that she murdered her husband. If she eliminates me, then there is nothing but suspicion of her. There's nothing that could be used in a courtroom to convict her. She's going to be operating now with the most basic motivation: self-preservation."

Determined that Gretchen Janus would not harm any member of his family, Ben stated that they would be watching for her.

"Pa, you can't be sure you can stop a determined assassin no matter what precautions you take. One way or another, she's going to get here and try to kill me. We know from the fire she set that she doesn't care how many other people die in that effort. I want you to get Mo and Benny to a safe place."

Shocked by Adam's request, Mo turned to him with her face showing her displeasure. "I'm not leaving."

"Mo, you need to go. You are a courageous, resourceful woman, but you've never had to shoot a weapon at someone. We need to make sure our son is safe too. Would you trust his life to someone else?"

Mo couldn't argue that point. "Where would we go? You know too that she could kidnap one or both of us and pressure you with that."

"Yes, but I think that Hop Sing can find a place for the two of you that she couldn't get near. If you're safe, then we can be more aggressive in how we deal with her. We need to rattle her and get her to make some mistakes."

Roy and Ben agreed that Adam had made some salient points. Hop Sing came from the kitchen where he had of course been listening to everything much as Adam expected. He said that he would be most pleased to get Mo and Benny to a place of safety. The Cartwrights had helped the Chinese community in many ways many times. He said they would be very pleased to be able to repay some of that kindness. Mo went to get Benny to tell him they needed to pack because they had to go away for a couple of days.

"Is Papa gonna get hurt again?"

"No, Grandpa Ben and Uncle Hoss and Uncle Joe will keep him safe."

"Mama, I want to go home."

"Benny, we are home."

"No, I mean our old home. In this new home, Papa gets hurt a lot. He got hurt on his arm, and now he got hurt here." Benny ran his hands from his chest to his stomach. "I don't like it when Papa gets hurt. We should all go home."

"Benny, you don't remember, but Papa got hurt in our old home too. When you were only about a year old, he had a broken leg from an accident in one of his mines. He got influenza too when you had it and was very, very sick. You were so sick too. For a while there, I was so scared that I would lose you both. There are dangers everywhere, but here, we have family to help us. Do you understand?"

"I think so. Papa isn't gonna to get hurt again, is he?"

"No, his family and his friends here will protect him. He won't get hurt again." In her heart, Mo prayed fervently that she had told the truth. She was worried about Adam, but she had to believe that they could defeat one woman. They had to in order to keep Adam safe.

Less than an hour later, Mo and Benny were reclining on blankets under a canvas tarp in the back of the buckboard. Mo had a shotgun with her and Hop Sing had one under the seat. They didn't expect any trouble, but they couldn't be sure. Hands were told to watch the wagon until it reached Virginia City. From hills well away from the road, they did that and then rode back to the Ponderosa to report that the wagon had made it to town safely. Ben nodded in appreciation of their help.

"Did you see anyone along the way? Was there any man or woman who doesn't belong on the Ponderosa?"

"No, Mr. Cartwright, the roads were clear and we never spotted anyone and we looked." The hands began to walk back to their horses when one turned around.

"There was a boy fishing in the creek just inside the southeast fence line. We didn't bother him cause you've always told us that a few fish or some rabbits were all right for people to take as long as they stayed away from the cattle."

Ben was shocked. "A young boy? On a school day? Fishing? Alone and so far from any home?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"She's here, but where did she go next?" At first when Ben had walked in looking so worried, Adam's heart sank thinking something had gone wrong with Mo and Benny going to the Chinese part of town to hide out until the crisis was over. When his father explained his concern, then Adam was sure that Gretchen was on the Ponderosa. The masquerade as a boy fishing was a good one but not good enough.

Ben made a decision. "I'm going to go take a look at this _boy_ fishing."

"We'll go with you, Pa."

Hoss and Joe grabbed their gunbelts and hats and went out to saddle their horses leaving Ben and Adam to discuss the situation. Even in his weakened state, Adam wondered at her ploy.

"Pa, why be so obvious about it? Surely she knows we're suspicious of her and watching for her. Why would she make herself so visible?"

"Perhaps she's that confident in her disguise."

"I don't know, Pa, but I have a feeling you won't find anyone now. She's up to something, and I wish I knew what it was."

As Adam expected, his father and brothers found no one and no tracks indicating where she had gone. She had headed to the road from the creek where she had supposedly been fishing. On the road, the tracks of her horse could not be discerned separately from the many other tracks. As they had ridden back to the Ponderosa ranch house, Gretchen had watched from up on the ridgeline. She had seen riders up there earlier watching. She wondered what they had been watching but when Hop Sing drove the wagon back home, she thought she knew because the wagon had much less in it than when it had left with what looked like quite a load. She correctly surmised that Mo and Benny had been in that wagon. She smiled. She had considered kidnapping one or both of them in order to get Adam to come to her, but that was a high risk to take. Now that they were likely gone, it made for two less complications in her plan. However she had to find a way to verify that Adam was still on the ranch and that he had not been in that wagon too. She rode back to her home thinking the entire time about what she should do next. By the time she reached her home, she thought that she had a plan. It was more complicated than she liked but she did think it had a good chance of succeeding. Of course, she always thought her plans would succeed. Again she had no contingency plan expecting her plan to go just as she wanted it to go.

The first hint of what Gretchen might be doing was reported to the Cartwrights the next day as Roy brought them the information that the judge had agreed to an inquest. He wanted both Adam and Gretchen to appear and had ordered them to do so in three days. Roy had gone out to serve the subpoena to her and found that she had gone. He sent wires to find out where she was.

"Ben, Adam, the answer I got back didn't surprise me none. She took her carriage on over to Carson City and sold it. She got her money from the bank in bearer bonds, and then she took her bag and got on a train to Denver, and nobody's seen her since. Looks like our black widow has headed out of town."

"Roy, I hope that's true. It's sad that she won't face justice for what she's done, but I hate to have Adam as well as Mo and Benny in danger from an unpredictable woman."

Hoss looked over at Adam and correctly guessed what he was thinking. "You don't think she's gone, do you? You think she's trying to trick us into thinking she's gone."

Adam nodded. "She's a woman, and a very petite woman. I think she's used to people underestimating her, and she's learned to use that. If Paul hadn't found evidence that arsenic killed her husband and if that building where his remains were wasn't burned, wouldn't you have had some doubt that she actually could have killed, especially that she could have killed four people?"

All four men nodded a bit guiltily. Joe was the only one to ask a question though. "Why didn't you doubt her guilt? You couldn't even remember she did it at first."

"Perhaps my mind didn't want to accept it either, or it was as Paul said and the trauma of the injury as well as the pain and blood loss affected my memory for a time. I still don't remember being shot. I only remember that I was shot and laying on the floor having trouble breathing. It's probably a good thing that I don't remember being shot. When I woke up and wondered who shot me, my mind immediately went to other threats. Pa did the same. We didn't even think about a woman even with the clues she left behind to try to make it look like I was meeting a woman there for a tryst. At first, we thought it was to try to make us think it was a woman instead of a man. She may be counting on us continuing to think like that, thinking that she couldn't do what a man could do."

"So you're saying she made it look like you was meeting a woman so that we would think it was just a false clue to hide that a man was the one who shot you when it really was a woman who shot you. Dang, that's even hard to say much less think about. Adam, you really think she's that tricky? Maybe she did want to meet you there for that thing you called it."

"A tryst." Adam paused to think. Ben recognized the signs and signaled to the others not to say anything. Adam looked up from the chair where he was sitting. "She did say that. She asked me to spend the night with her. I don't know if she was serious or testing me or what she was doing. She seemed serious about that. I don't understand what she wanted, but my answer must have made her angry."

"None of us may ever know what she's thinking. Something is very wrong with that woman. But what is most important right now is that you need to get some rest." Ben had noticed that Adam was looking rather pale. He knew Adam wasn't sleeping well and the dark circles under his eyes were evidence of that. Worry about his wife and son as well as what Gretchen was planning were taking a toll. Doctor Martin had said it would be weeks before Adam regained his strength, but he acted like he was fine until moments like this when it was so obvious that he wasn't fine at all. Ben stepped over to where Adam was sitting and spoke quietly to him. "I'll help you to the settee. You can sleep there for a time, and then we can talk more." The measure of how weak Adam must have been feeling was revealed when he didn't argue at all but accepted his father's help. Ben pulled the throw from the back of the settee and laid it over his oldest son as he closed his eyes. All the men filed outside to talk a bit more.

"I'm sorry, Ben. I forgot just how weak he was. I hope that I didn't push him too hard. Do you think he'll be ready to come to town to testify at the inquest?"

"I'm sure he will, Roy. You know Adam. He'll dig deep and find some inner strength somewhere and do it."

"Ben, the inquest is scheduled and the time and place will be in the newspaper tomorrow. In less than two more days, Adam's testimony is going to be public record. It'll be reported in the paper too I'm guessing. If she's going to try to stop this from developing into a murder charge against her as well as an attempted murder charge, she needs to stop Adam before that inquest. You got any idea how she might try to do that? I mean she's only a little slip of a thing. She can't come at him direct with all the men protecting him."

"I wish I knew, Roy. All we can do is be vigilant."

"Maybe like now somebody ought to be sitting in there with him?"

Joe turned and rushed into the house before Roy even finished speaking.

"You're right, Roy. We can't take anything for granted, can we?"

After Roy left, Ben asked Hoss and Joe to stay close to the house. They found work to do out in the yard, and Ben worked at his desk. When Adam awoke, he did some reading, but Ben could see he hardly ever turned the page. Most likely, he was thinking more than reading. Ben waited a long time before asking.

"You've been thinking a lot. Do you have a theory about how she's going to try to stop you?"

"She has to come for me here. She has to rely on stealth and surprise. When men are all around me or in town, even if she got to me, she would either be killed or she would face murder charges with no way to defend against it."

"How can she come for you here? We're with you all the time."

"Not all the time. She'll wait for a situation to her advantage. You know I have to go to the necessary, use the washroom, sleep. She'll try to be here at one of those times."

"Do you think she's close then?"

"I do. But I wish I could guess what she's planning to do."

Hoss had come in the house then and heard the conversation. "But she must know that if anything happens to you, we'll know it was her."

"Yes, you'll know it was her, but knowing it and proving it are two very different things."

Nothing happened the rest of the day, but that night when Adam went up to his room, he came back to the top of the stairs. "Someone's been in my room. I'm guessing it wasn't any one of you, was it?"

Ben, Hoss, and Joe hurried up the stairs and walked to Adam's room. One drawer was slightly open. That was the only thing they could see. Joe was openly skeptical.

"Believe it or don't, but I know someone was in my room."

Hoss checked out the closet and armoire while Ben knelt down to check under the bed. No one was there of course, but they had to be sure. Hoss and Joe left, but Ben stood at the doorway a moment.

"What do you think she wanted to accomplish by that? And how do you think she got in the house?"

"The same way she snuck in when we were so much younger." Ben was shocked. "We never did anything in your house, but when you told me I couldn't see her any more, she snuck in to see me when I was confined to the house for defying you. She climbed up the tree in back and got onto the back roof and then slipped into my bedroom from there."

"So she could sneak in her tonight, and we would never know. Adam, sleep in my room. We'll block the door to this room. I'll tell Hoss and Joe what you told me."

Instead of agreeing, Adam leaned against the doorjamb of his room. "Why would she open a drawer, Pa? It's like she sending a message to me that I'm not safe in my room." Adam stood quietly trying to think like Gretchen might think. What he whispered when he looked up surprised them though. "Get your pistols. I think she's hiding in Pa's bedroom."

Once Hoss and Joe were back with the pistols, Ben orchestrated the moves on the bedroom sending Joe out on the porch roof through his bedroom window. When Hoss came back to say that Joe was in position, Ben told Adam to stay where he was.

"You won't be able to help us, and we would be hampered worrying about you. Trust us. If she's in there, we've got her."

Ben swung the door open wide and boldly stepped into the room with a lamp in his left hand. He looked around but there was no sign of Gretchen. Setting the lamp on the table, he motioned to Hoss to step to the closet. Hoss pulled the door open but found no one in the narrow recesses of the small closet. Then Joe came in the open window, and Ben motioned him to look under the bed as Ben looked under the other side.

"Well, greetings, Mrs. Janus. If you had come to the front door, this would have been so much easier. Slide out any weapon you have before you come out. I expect that will be a knife and a pistol. I expect to see both before I see you, or one of us may have to shoot you first and check for weapons later." The anger in Ben's voice belied his calm demeanor. Adam moved to the doorjamb of Ben's bedroom and leaned there waiting for his attacker to emerge from under the bed. A pistol came first followed by a long knife in a sheath. Then Gretchen slid out and stood under the wary eyes of Ben and his two younger sons.

"This doesn't prove anything, you know. I could have been hiding here just to talk with Adam later."

"That's preposterous, and any jury would think the same. Now, you wanted to hide so much, get in that closet."

"What? You can't force me to sit in a closet."

"I can and will. You can have a blanket and a pillow. You can sleep in there a lot easier than if we have to tie you up. In the morning, we'll take you in to the sheriff. Your other option is to sit tied to a chair for the night."

"I'd rather be tied to a chair."

It was a strange choice, and for the first time, Adam and the others got a hint of what might have happened to Gretchen. Instead of sleeping in the closet, she preferred the indignity and discomfort of being tied to a chair. Ben obliged her as he and Hoss and Joe took turns guarding her through the night. Hop Sing had brought coffee out for them as they worked out the schedule for the night. He told them there was more on the stove staying hot. In the morning, Hoss and Joe loaded Gretchen into the buckboard still tied to the chair and secured the chair there. She said she needed to use the necessary, but Ben said the only way she was going to do that was with one of them with her. She declined and said she would wait until she was in jail.

"If the sheriff will even lock me up for playing a little prank like this. I may have to sue you for kidnapping instead." She smiled then as if she wasn't in terrible trouble. Her delusional ideas were back as evidenced by her demeanor and her statement.

Ben drove the carriage to town behind the wagon with Joe and Hoss not only to prevent any trickery by Gretchen from being successful but also to retrieve Mo and Benny from their refuge with Hop Sing's family and friends. Adam insisted he was coming along but had to ride in the back per Ben's ultimatum on that issue. Less than halfway to town, Ben turned back to see Adam sleeping in the back seat resting against the pillow that Ben had put there and with the blanket tucked up to his chin. The first stop was the sheriff's office. Roy was shocked when he was summoned outside to find Gretchen Janus tied to a chair and a curious crowd gathering.

"Now, Ben, she ain't been charged with a crime yet. I don't know that it's proper for you to bring her here this way. Where did you find her?"

"She found us, Roy. She was hiding under my bed last night with a pistol and a large knife." Ben handed the weapons over to Roy who looked shocked.

"She say what she was doing there?"

"She says it's a prank, but we know otherwise. At the very least, she was trespassing in our home. She should be locked up for that as a start. You could charge her with the attempted murder of my son too. That ought to be enough to hold her, and then after the inquest, we'll see what the good citizens have to say about her future."

"Now, Ben, you hold it right there. You done said enough. In fact, you said way more than enough. It's gonna be hard enough to get a jury for the inquest without you making it all the more difficult. Now I'll take charge of her, and you go get Mo and Benny. I figure that must be your next stop. You be back in town for the inquest, but until then, you kin stop talking like that."

"Roy, don't underestimate her again. She's as capable of mayhem and murder as any hardened criminal."

"Ben, you need to shut up." Roy got his deputies to take Gretchen into the jail as he gave Ben a sour look.

But Ben had made his points. He climbed into the carriage where Adam had moved to the front seat and now grinned at his father. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

Ben scowled but couldn't hold it and had to smile too. "Yes, I did enjoy that. I enjoyed that very much."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

While Hoss and Joe went to pick up supplies on a list given to them by Hop Sing, Ben drove the carriage to the Chinese section of town. Mo and Benny came running as soon as they heard the news that they were there. Adam was soon engulfed in gentle hugs from his wife and son as Ben gave a large donation to Mr. Chang for the Chinese theater. He was thanked profusely for his contribution and Ben thanked them profusely for providing a safe haven for his daughter-in-law and grandson.

Normally Benny liked to ride next to whomever was driving the carriage, but this time he sat in the back seat of the carriage on his father's lap and carefully rested his hand on his father's shoulder as they drove out of town. Adam wanted to wrap an arm around Mo on his left but found it still too difficult to raise that arm. Instead Mo leaned up against him and wrapped her arms around his arm. Adam used his right arm to pull Benny to him. Benny resisted a little at first until his father reassured him.

"It's all right, son. Most of the damage is on the other side, and I need a hug." Benny smiled in response and the family headed home. Once they got there, Mo wanted to hear the whole story of what had happened in her absence. She was surprised at how Gretchen Janus had been apprehended.

"Adam, how did you know?" Mo had heard the story of how Adam had guessed that Gretchen was hiding in his father's bedroom.

Hoss perked up when he heard the question. "Older brother, I been meaning to ask you that myself. How did you guess that?"

"I did know her well at one point. I didn't think she could change too much in her basic personality. I tried to think like she might think. She knew she would need to be stealthy to get to me. By herself, she would never physically be a match for any man. She couldn't poison our food because Hop Sing is always there. Burning the house with all of us in it wouldn't work because we have people watching, but also even if she got it started, there are so many men here who would work to put it out and save us if needed. Knowing all of that, I tried to reason out what she would do. Killing me in my sleep was the only option that made sense. Now she couldn't climb into my room because I don't have the porch roof right outside my window like Hoss and Pa do. She might be agile enough to climb from the roof to my room but that would make noise that I would likely hear. So she needed us to know she was around. That's why she did that obvious thing dressing up as a boy fishing. We would be worried about her. At some point today, she managed to sneak into the house through one of the bedroom windows probably. She had all day to accomplish it. No one was staring at the house, and in this weather, the bedroom windows were open. Once inside, she made sure I would realize someone was in my room. She would know how neat I keep everything and that I would notice something out of place. Now if it's not safe in my room and I'm not strong enough to defend myself against a surprise attract, it was logical that Pa would tell me to sleep in his room."

Mo looked from Adam to Hoss and then to Joe and to Ben. They were all as amazed as she was.

"Of course, I could have been wrong, and then you would all have thought I was a fool."

"Older brother, I may have thought a lot of things about you but a fool has never been one of them."

"So, Joe, what things have you thought about me?"

"Now we don't want to get into that in front of your wife and son, do we? I mean, they should get to learn those awful things for themselves, don't you think?"

With that, Adam threw a pillow at Joe who ducked. The pillow hit Hoss who then threw it at Joe.

"Hey, I didn't throw that pillow at you. Adam's the one who hit you with it."

"Yeah, but you're the one who ducked. Ifn you hadn't ducked, it wouldn't have hit me so it's your fault."

Adam started laughing then and soon was joined by Hoss as Joe stood fuming in mock anger. Benny looked at his mother.

"Mama, what are they doing?"

"They're just being brothers."

"Could I have some brothers? It looks like fun."

That statement made Joe begin to giggle when he saw the look on Adam's face. Ben smiled and relaxed in his chair. This was how he wanted family life on the Ponderosa to be. They needed to relax a bit because the inquest was the next day. Hopefully Adam would get a more restful night now that Gretchen was locked away.

After some very loving exercise beforehand, Adam did get some restful sleep. As he slipped into bed that night, he waited for Mo to slide in the other half of the bed before he carefully rolled up onto his right side. He was still a little restricted by bandages, but they weren't the thick pads he had worn for the first six days after being shot. He slid his left hand slowly up Mo's stomach until he reached the bows that tied together the top of her gown. He untied those and slipped his hand inside the gown to caress his wife.

"Adam, you have a very stressful day coming up, and I don't think you're up to this kind of activity yet."

"Oh, in some ways I am very much up for this kind of activity."

"Very funny."

"Sweetheart, I'm completely serious. I've missed you, and you weren't even here in my bed once you had to be hidden away from her. I want you so much."

"But how can we do anything without you hurting yourself?"

"Remember when I had the broken leg?" Adam waited a moment only for he didn't need her answer. He was sure she remembered. "Well, we found a way then, and it seems like that would work just fine this time too."

"As long as you let me do the moving around and you take it easy, it will."

Very carefully, Adam rolled to his left until he was flat on his back. He put his right arm up for his wife to roll under it. From that point on, they didn't need to talk. Mo rested her head on Adam's pillow after they finished their lovemaking. She kissed his shoulder as her arm encircled his arm.

"Now, close your eyes and rest easy, mister. That was a wonderful idea, but now you need to sleep more than anything." In the moonlight, Mo watched as Adam's eyes closed, and she listened as his breathing became soft and regular. Then she closed her eyes and slept well.

The next morning, Ben was up early and got to his namesake before he could make any noise that might wake his parents. Ben got him dressed and took him downstairs for breakfast saying that his parents very much needed to sleep in a little. It was over two hours later before Mo and Adam made their way down the stairs for a late breakfast. Hop Sing grumbled a little, but Ben knew it was all for show. He had kept two plates of eggs, potatoes, and ham warm for the couple knowing how much they needed to rest. He had brewed them a fresh pot of coffee, and had fresh biscuits for them too. Adam and Mo heaped praise on the cook for his wonderful food and for being so considerate. By the time they were digging into the food, Hop Sing was smiling. It was clear they liked his food and appreciated what he had done for them. It was all that Hop Sing ever asked of his family. For the rest of the day, Adam got to relax with his wife and son and didn't have to worry about anything. He did his best to forget about the inquest the following day. Now that Gretchen was already in jail, he wasn't very concerned with the inquest. That night went much the same as the previous night except they had to get up at an earlier time so that they would be in town for the start of the inquest at ten. Roy walked up to them as they arrived.

"I got some things to say to you all. There's some things I found out that may or may not be true, but I'm leaning toward believing them. When I first got Mrs. Janus into my jail, I offered to hang a couple of blankets to give her some privacy. She didn't want it. She wanted a couple of lamps burning back there instead. Ben, Adam, she's terrified of the dark far as I can tell. She told me that several years ago, she told Janus that she was a leaving him. He got mad and locked her in a closet overnight. From then on, he locked her in a closet every night. That was why she wouldn't go in the closet at your house even though you said you'd be tying her in a chair instead. It was all them nights locked in that closet that got her to start planning the killing that she did although she hasn't said that to me direct, but I know it's got to be true."

"Roy, I understand why she might want to kill Janus. What he did to her was monstrous. But why would she want to kill her parents?"

"Adam, she told me she went to them for help. She wanted to come home. They said no for two reasons. They said she was a married woman and it wasn't up to them to interfere in a marriage. Then they said that they needed the space to help out her sister cause she had all those kids and couldn't handle them all."

"So her sister never did anything to her, but she murdered her in cold blood anyway?"

"Yes, Ben, I think that about sums it up. That's exactly how I see it. I don't think the inquest is going to be in doubt. Soon as Adam testifies and I testify and you testify, well the people are gonna want to string her up especially after Paul testifies. It's a real sad thing."

"Roy, are you feeling sorry for her?"

"Yes, Ben, I am. I'm thinking she ain't right in the head and hasn't been for quite a while. After years of being treated that way by her husband, I think she went over the edge. I don't think she has any feeling for anybody. She's a sick woman, Ben. Real sick."

"What does Paul say about her condition?"

"She wouldn't let me call him for her. Said she's accepted her fate and feels that no one cares what happens to her."

Concerned that his old friend might have been taken in by an act, Ben entered the courtroom for the inquest and was surprised to see the condition of Gretchen Janus. She seemed even smaller and seemed almost fragile as she sat waiting to testify. Adam had walked in with him, caught his father's eye, and shrugged. They were wondering how much of this might be an act and how much might be vulnerability of an abused woman. Mo leaned over to Adam and whispered.

"You're not buying any of this, are you? She couldn't have gone from cold-blooded killer to sympathetic little lady, has she?"

"No, but something made her become a killer. That part of the story is believable. That it made her unable to make choices, I don't accept. She was too convinced of her righteousness and what she was doing. Her smug answer when Pa made her slide out from under the bed is at odds with this gentle wounded soul. We need to make her show her true self, or they may all start feeling sorry for her. She's only crazy in the sense that none of us would have chosen to act the way she acted. She gave in to all her more negative emotions and decided to take revenge and then to cover up her crimes."

Hoss and Joe had taken care of the horses and the carriage so they joined the rest of the family a bit later. Hoss saw Gretchen and leaned over to Adam and Ben. "She looks like a pitiful little thing, don't she?"

Mo was surprised. "Hoss, you saw how she was at the house. Adam told me. You're not buying her pitiful act, are you?"

"No, Sis, but she does look like a pitiful little thing. She's doing a real good job of trying to make people feel sorry for her. I gotta wonder what kind of act she's gonna put on when she testifies. If people hadn't seen her being so proud and sure of herself, they could believe her."

The first part of the inquest went as expected with Adam testifying first and then Ben and Roy. Adam was tired by the time he finished and sat heavily in the chair when he returned from the witness stand. Those in attendance saw him sit and close his eyes for a moment. It hurt Gretchen's case and she knew it. Mo caught a glimpse of the furious look in her eyes before she had once again dropped her eyes to the floor as if she couldn't bear to hear any more testimony. Roy and Ben testified, and most damning of all, Paul testified. In a courtroom trial, some of the testimony wouldn't have been allowed but the judge allowed far more leeway in an inquest. Finally Gretchen was asked to testify. At first, desperate to change the mood in the room, she tried to explain away the statements she had made to Adam without seeming to realize that put her in the room with him as he had testified she had been. She tried to give a plausible explanation too of how her husband could have had arsenic or possibly died from other causes. Unable to refute anything said against her and unable on short notice without rehearsal of keeping her story straight, everyone in the room thought she was lying. When the judge asked if she had anything to do with the fire that destroyed her husband's body, she lost her cool completely.

"Of course I did. I had to do that or all of you would have thought I killed him. I didn't, but you think I did. I should have burned the whole damn town down so I wouldn't be in here now hounded by all you people and especially those Cartwrights." Realizing what she had done to her defense, she quickly adapted, stood and started screaming obscenities and threats. She was literally foaming at the mouth as she lunged toward Adam only to be intercepted by Mo's fist. She was stunned by that and Clem and Roy had moved in quickly and held her arms before she could attempt to attack anyone else. She spit and screamed and generally acted completely out of control. Paul had them pull her into an adjoining room and hold her down as he mixed a sedative and administered it. The courtroom was silent then until the door closed to that room but erupted in conversation then, and most of it was that the woman was crazy.

All of Gretchen's out of control behavior helped with her defense the following week when she was tried for the murder of her husband and the attempted murder of Adam. The courthouse was packed every day. The Cartwrights, Dan DeQuille from the Territorial Enterprise, and Gretchen's brother-in-law were the only ones who were guaranteed seats but everyone else had to wait in line hoping to be one of those admitted. Others crowded the hallway and outside the building by the windows trying to hear. The defense lawyer she hired was very good, and he certainly should have been with the huge amount of money she paid him to orchestrate her defense. Adam testified again as did Ben, Roy, and Paul. Hoss and Joe were ready to testify about her being in their father's bedroom and what she said to them, but it wasn't necessary. The only defense was that she was crazy and should be committed instead of punished. With alternating hysterics, crying, and ludicrous explanations of that had happened interspersed with tales of abuse, Gretchen fit everyone's image of a crazy woman. Her tales of being locked in a closet at night for years and her parents' rejection of her plea for help caused many a teary eye in the courtroom. Adam and Mo were skeptical because it all seemed so believable that they felt it had to be an outstanding acting job, but had nothing to refute the behavior of the defendant in the courtroom.

By the end of the trial, the decision was to commit Gretchen Janus as insane and not responsible for her actions. She could be released when doctors had determined that she was sane and no longer a danger to others. When the decision was announced, Gretchen went ballistic screaming that she wasn't crazy and that she would rather hang for crimes she hadn't committed than to be locked away as a crazy person. Once more, she was subdued and sedated. Her brother-in-law quietly left the building. No one except Adam and Mo were concerned about her sentence as even Ben argued that at least she was locked away for the foreseeable future.

"Adam, you know that with the conditions of those so-called hospitals, no one ever seems to get better. Perhaps in the future, there will be means to reverse insanity, but no one knows how to do that now. Even Paul admits that."

"That's all true, Pa, but what if she isn't insane? What if she was acting?"

"Adam, I don't believe anyone could maintain that act as long as she has without slipping up. Roy has said that what we saw in the courtroom is exactly what he saw in the jail every day. Getting arrested seems to have been the final straw in her losing whatever connection she had to sanity. She may have still been sane when she committed those murders and the attack on you, but she isn't any more."

There was nothing that Adam could say that would make any difference. He and Mo confided their worries to each other in private, but at least were reassured that she would be locked away. The long delayed Easter celebration finally took place in much nicer weather than they had at Easter. Benny didn't know the difference and found the eggs that Hoss and Joe had hidden. The family had a big Easter dinner with ham and all the extras that Hop Sing could provide. A week after their big dinner, Roy rode out to the ranch. He looked worried. With a smile, Ben greeted him.

"Roy, I hope you weren't expecting more ham. Hoss and the boys took care of that a couple of days ago already."

"No, no, I came over to talk with you and Adam and the rest of the family too, I guess." Once inside the house, Roy looked apologetic. "I have to apologize to you, Adam, and to you, Mo. You two figured out what I should have. I don't think she is insane. I think she manipulated all of us. I can't prove it, but I got enough to make me believe that's true."

Adam stepped to Roy putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right. Anyone can make a mistake, but why do you think you made that one."

"The lawyer she retained to sell off her property and such had me go out to her place today as he did an inventory. He wants to make sure that no one thinks he took advantage of her in any way. He'll sell all her property and put the money in an account for her to use if she ever gets released."

Ben wondered too how any of that could have changed Roy's mind about Gretchen Janus.

"Ben, I went through that whole house with the lawyer. He's a right fine man. I gotta tell you though, I had a few shocks though. He's selling off her parents' place and her brother-in-law's too. That surprised me some, but guess who's the trustee of her estate until she's released?" No one bit on the question because they had no idea who it could be. "Her sister's husband. And that ain't all. Ben, I was every room upstairs and downstairs, and even in the root cellar. I went with the lawyer out to the stable and the hay barn. It's something I shoulda done before the trial. Ben, there ain't a closet of any kind in the whole dang house or anywhere else on the place."


End file.
